Six Reasons to Consider Avoiding Cute Sermon Series Titles

I’m not sure when this trend started, but like many trends, it likely has innocent beginnings. A pastor heard the name of a popular new book, movie, or album, and decided it would be a great sermon series title.

Maybe the pastor thought it was catchy. And maybe it was. Maybe the congregation appreciated the play on words. It’s highly likely.

Then other pastors started imitating the pastor. They started doing the same—taking pop culture references and morphing them into sermon series titles. And things spiraled out of control.

Now, to be fair, there is nothing wrong with a catchy sermon series title. There is nothing wrong with one that’s not catchy, either. But the cute, pop culture-y, pun-tastic sermon series titles really should be rethought, and here are six reasons why:

Not everyone understands the reference. As mainstream as you may think a TV show or game, or movie is, there will still be a large group in your congregation who simply will not get the reference. A sermon series title I saw recently was based on the wildly popular game, Pokémon Go. However, it was likely lost on senior adults who have no idea what a Pokémon is or where you go to catch them. And for those of us who do, it can seem like a bit of a stretch to be culturally relevant.

These titles make the Bible seem old or outdated. By stretching to make the Bible relevant, we can sometimes forget that the Bible doesn’t need our help to do so. It’s completely relevant to our lives just the way it is. Your sermon series shouldn’t require a cute pop culture title for your congregation to see the application of the Bible in their everyday lives.

They sometimes verge on copyright infringement (or at least the appearance of it). I’m obviously not a trademark lawyer, but when you use a company’s registered brand or tagline to promote your product, that’s quite close to stealing (if not actual theft of intellectual property). And do we really want our churches to be known for “baptizing” secular companies and taglines? I know that’s not often the intent, but intent and perception are often two different things. And negative perception can hurt a church and a pastor even if the intent is well-meaning.

The start of the sermon series often lags well behind the popularity of its inspiration. Because sermon series are often planned in advance, there is a high probability that by the time your pop culture-based series starts, its inspiration is already declining in popularity. Churches already take (often unwarranted) criticism for being behind the times. Cute sermon series titles often reinforce that perception.

Cute sermon series titles can veil the distinctiveness of Christianity. Do sermon series titles based on pop culture references really communicate “in the world, and not of the world”? You might be able to make a case for it. If so, feel free to do so in the comment section below. But are we really communicating that Christianity is distinct from culture when we are compelled to use culture to market it?

Cute sermon series titles can obfuscate the message of the actual sermon. Finally, it’s quite possible that by using these titles we are drawing more attention to cute turns of phrase than the Word of God. This is obviously not the case in all instances, but I can see how easy it could be for a pastor to study a text looking more for how it can be molded into a sermon series title than how it can mold listeners more into the shape of Christ.

Again, am I saying you shouldn’t have a memorable sermon series title? No. Am I saying you should avoid all pop culture references in your preaching? No.

Every church is different, and every congregation is different. But I have a strong feeling that if your sermon series titles were based more on the actual biblical text and not on a pop culture reference, your congregation might appreciate that just as much, if not more.

Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources, the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.

71 Comments

Sean
on January 19, 2017 at 8:10 am

I’m curious what you mean by cute sermon titles. Can you give us some examples please?

Maybe not culturally current, but “Get Off Your Buts” is the most memorable sermon title I have heard. It was a great sermon to the congregation to serve instead of saying things like “I would serve, but…” or “I really wish I could serve, but…”

I have to say, the first few sentences made me smile. It took me back to late 1990’s youth ministry. That seemed to be the popular trend then…attempting to be cool and “seeker sensitive”. We probably threw in a good PowerPoint game too that went along with the title of the series. I suppose as those Youth Pastors grew older and/or influenced other church staff, the trend grew. What will I smile about in the next 20 years?

I think a danger too can be to justify or give credit to whatever pop culture phenomenon we are referencing. For example, (and, like stated earlier, this is not to throw anyone under the bus) I have seen “50 Shades of Grace” used as a catchy sermon title. To the seeker or the un-churched, this could look like the church is condoning 50 Shades of Grey. If perception is greater than reality, that which we borrow from or mimic, we are potentially also endorsing.

That is my concern. I’ve seen references to 50 Shades as well as Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead. These aren’t great things for a church to associate with, even if you’re trying to ‘redeem’ them in some way.

I just made up one just now that would give a fictional example of what I think what is being discouraged here. Since “Star Wars: Rogue One” is a big movie right now, a cute sermon series title could be “Rogue One: The Prodigal Son.”

A church down the street has a large digital sign and constantly runs sermon series advertisements. In the two years that it’s been up I don’t know that I’ve seen a single one that is not an attempt at a pun . It’s becoming a running joke in the town as the church has a great location but insists on using these gimmicky titles.

I think if you do it all the time, with all your series it loses it effectiveness. An occasional appropriate one can be effective. I think it may be more effective in youth groups because you don’t have the broad gap of awareness, but you must always bring it back to the Biblical content. Most of the ones we do aren’t pop culture, a movie, or TV series but we do try to find memorable titles that connect. The one I am doing right now is RESET thinking of the concept of the reset button on computers, machines, appliances, etc. I agree we should give a lot of thought to using too much pop culture. The church should be counter culture.

This work with church signs as well. For years, I have been asked by members why I dont put more cutesy funny signs up. Typically I say, first, it’s because I’ve never heard of anyone coming into the church over an amusing sign–it’s more important to state what we’re doing. Second, I believe that Christianity already has an identity crisis of appearing irrelevant, outdated, and pointless. I dont want to add to that misconception.

To clarify, I do believe it is good to be light-hearted and have a few good laughs. But there’s a time and place for everything under the sun–sermons and signs are probably not good places to share your punny story.

I think we put too much credibility in titles to begin with. I was a youth minister for 18 years and a preaching minister for 12 years–no one remembers a title. I seriously doubt the early Christians were big into sermon titles either.

I think this is reflective of our cultural love affair with marketing. Perhaps we should forget the marketing approach altogether–do due diligence to our sermon prep and go about the business of connecting with people day by day. Your love and friendship will be much more effective than the sermon series based on The Big Bang Theory or Code Black…

I think the point of the title should be to reinforce what the sermons communicate, not to make them memorable. It is also a tool for archiving sermons but this would be for the pastor’s benefit more than any other!

Amen brother!! I can remember some life changing sermons over my life. Couldn’t tell you the title of a single one. Most women are gracious enough not to say much but the sports titles and use of sports stars and sport stories in sermons ars a running joke!

As the volunteer who weekly creates copies from the master sermon CD, I can tell you that when people ask for a copy of a specific former sermon, they rarely use the series title or sermon title. They usually say something like, “The one where (pastor) talked about the last five decades.” If it was a catchy series title, they usually remember it, but I have to help them with the rest. The most effective for remembering have been the simple ones like “Oh What Fun” (a Christmas series), and “Puzzled by the Bible,” a series with simple answers to frequently asked questions about the Bible.

Learn this lesson the hard way! Did a series entitled X-Factor, after the popular TV show by the same name. Basis of series is how the Holy Spirit is the X-Factor in a Christian’s life. Unfortunately , found out that 3/4 ‘s of the congregation did not know the show. OUCH. (8 Weeks of answering the question what is X-Factor?)

I disagree. Your sermon series title should be a memorable title pointing out the Big picture of your sermon series. Your Sermon series title is a big deal. I mean if you are doing a series on discipleship, which series would you rather go hear, a series entitled Discipleship or a series entitled How to Change a Life?

I would definitely go to the one titled Discipleship. How to Change a Life doesn’t tell in any way that the series will be based on God’s Word. Is “How to Change a Life” a current, trendy play on words? If it is, the reference is lost on me. If not, then “How to Change a Life” sounds like a workshop on how to manipulate others, not how to disciple them; that title doesn’t convey the agape that was intended. Maybe it’s semantics, but the clearly biblical series would be my choice. I’ve always been weird.

It amazes me how cheesy sermon titles can be. It makes me wonder how much time a pastor spends coming up with a catchy sermon title compared to his time in the Word and in prayer. Preparing the delivery of God’s Word is so much more important than your sermon title that we will CERTAINLY forget in two weeks. Just preach the Word and forget about impressing us. God’s Word speaks for itself.

Ya know…I get what the author is saying…but I can’t say I agree completely. Cute sermon titles probably aren’t good for the most part. *Punny* titles aren’t good typically. Sadly most people believe they’re a lot wittier than they really are. However, I think a well-thought out title that makes it memorable is a good thing. While no one may remember a sermon title years from now – I think a good, memorable – dare I say creative title – can encourage folks to come on Sunday and perhaps invite a friend.

I think the series should have titles but that they should be themed after the overall thrust that the sermons within that series are trying to communicate. For example I am preaching through the book of Judges so I titled the series “Despair to Deliverance” because that is a reoccurring theme of the book.

Admittedly, I am growing at this and have used some questionable “pun-esque” titles for specific sermons but I have moved from that over the years.

I also feel it is possible to lose people by being too theological or intellectual with a title. One doesn’t need to title a series the “Hypostatic Union” when you can say “God and Man In Christ”. We cannot and should not avoid all churchy words in titles, and certainly not in delivery of the message, though there is common ground that communicates well to our intended audience.

To be totally honest, we have a young pastor that brings the word to life and has some catchy titles I guess the could be mis-interpreted but the way he brings it he is more about the word and how we can apply it to our daily walk than the title. The beauty in our world that is ever changing is that God’s word and direction for our lives never does. If this sounds like I am defending our pastor, well you are correct, I am and will as long as he leads us on the path of righteousness by bringing God’s word to life. The key for me and what our church had to learn is to seek God and His will for our church and as long as we do that I think the titles won’t mean as much. Sorry for the rambling on.

Good article. People say the church should not be stuck in tradition – and I agree – but I also think it’s dangerous for us to chase every little trend that comes along. These cutesy sermon titles are just one example. Thanks for addressing it.

All of this is right on the money. Especially point #1.
Our pastor did a sermon series based around one of the popular Sci-Fi movies and another fantasy movie.
During each sermon he showed a couple of short movie clips in which he used to try to make a point in his sermon.
This drew a lot of criticism from the congregation, because unless you are a fan of these movies yourself you would have no idea how the movie connected to the sermon. For many it made absolutely no sense what so ever.

My dad, a pastor of 38 years, taught us to preach a message that is timeless; one that can relevant 20 years from the day you first preach it. That has stayed with me in 25 years of ministry. I study and preach as if it will be heard by a generation many years from now. I use titles the same way.

It comes across especially bad if you know that the preacher does not fully understand the pop culture reference that he is using. And you know this because he mentions that he doesn’t know that much about it. If you are going to preach something PLEASE know what you are talking about.

Trademarks are product specific, so unless you’re stepping on the trademark of another church or religious group, its probably not a problem. The clearest example is there is a Cadillac automobile and a Cadillac dog food. Secondly with copyrights and trademarks there is fair use. Education is one of them. So for example when Weird Al Yankovic parodies songs, that is fair use. Or when a professor shows clips of a film in his film class that is fair use.

How does 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 impact our comments? While I don’t disagree with most of the comments and frankly don’t use “snappy titles” Is God more concerned with our titles or the lost? I’m living proof that He works His sovereign will in spite of me or my subpar sermons. If a Star Wars title would bring in someone to hear the gospel I’m all for it.

I’m in a rut. My current series is “Mark.” Tomorrow will be the 54th of 60 parts. Mark was preceded by “Ruth” (12 parts), Colossians (16), and 1 Peter (17). Of course those four series came when I decided to break out of the rut of using the lectionary and drifting to my favorite topics. This is a better rut, but I’m unsure what to follow Mark with. Looking like a Pauline epistle or one of the minor prophets.

I applaud your desire to stay with lessons taken from scripture and, from the sounds of it, preaching through exposition. However, as much as I enjoy studying the Bible (I eat it right up!), 60 weeks with the gospel of Mark would be draining for me in corporate worship. I could only do that in a small group setting or in my daily devoted time.

As far as a future series and since you’re already looking at a Pauline epistle, how about Ephesians? It’s short and could be done in a matter of six weeks (one week for each chapter). In addition to that, teaching this epistle could seem like it was broken into halves as well because the first three chapters speak to who we are and what we’ve been given in Christ. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 tell us how to live according to who we are and what we’ve been given in Christ. Nice segue on Paul’s part, I think.

I’m not a seminary-trained preacher, so perhaps my input doesn’t cut it. But I have this epistle highlighted, underlined, and commented-in-the-margins more than any epistle. I, like Jonathan, don’t believe we need shy away from creativity in sermon series/sermon titles. God made us in his image and he is creative. I guess what I need to ask myself in my own writing is, “This sounds catchy, but is my creativity lending itself to effectiveness?” In the case of preaching on Ephesians, I might consider “Coming to Life & Coming to Live.”

God bless you as you prayerfully prepare messages in order to make disciples.

Jonathan, since I’ve replied to other comments, I’m not sure if this will appear to be a reply to the last comment on your article or a reply to you. At any rate, I would like to say I have thought about this topic numerous times. It not an issue I care to grieve about in my church (we have so much heavier things to concentrate on), and I’m not the pastor. I have no control over it.
That said, I agree with each of your points because they have come to mind for me as well. The point you make in #2 is one I have spoken about with my spiritual mentor. When a friend told me (a former) pastor “makes the Bible so relevant,” I wasn’t sure at first why the comment bothered me. You said, “By stretching to make the Bible relevant, we can sometimes forget that the Bible doesn’t need our help to do so. It’s completely relevant to our lives just the way it is.” Yahtzee! A pastor doesn’t MAKE the Bible relevant, he SHOWS US how and why the Bible is relevant.
One thought on church signs. I’m weary of them. I see so few that I believe would draw an unchurched person in. The best one I’ve ever seen is in my fair city. It consistently reads a simple declarative sentence and timeless message: “Jesus Is Lord.”

Totally disagree… Did it a couple of times and especially the youth and young adults find it very interesting… they’re waiting and are curious about the new series I’m going to present.
it totally update the Biblical message… It all depends how you present it, how old and how tuned your congregation is with series/media/news/etc…
If you’re church is consisted of elders you might come back to the traditional way of doing church, if you want to reach out you must be creative and full of creativity, of course, primarily full of the Spirit!